More fascinating historical photos of a very different time.

Continuing on a favourite theme of mine, these are historical photos showing just how different the world was just a short time ago. The treatment of women, minorities, and prohibition feature strongly in this collection.

These photos bring history to life and I find them absolutely compelling, I hope others may also find them of interest.


Robert Cornelius’ Self-Portrait: The First Ever “Selfie” (1839)



The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment.



en.wikipedia.org...

The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male, also known as the Tuskegee Syphilis Study or Tuskegee Syphilis Experimentwas an infamous clinical study conducted between 1932 and 1972 by the U.S. Public Health Service studying the natural progression of untreated syphilis in rural African-American men in Alabama under the guise of receiving free health care from the United States government.

Annette Kellerman was arrested for public indecency for wearing this bathing suit, 1907



Anti Suffragette poster, about 1909.



The last known photo of the Titanic, 1912



Barrels of alcohol being emptied onto the street during prohibition, 1920s.



Beach patrols measuring the length of women’s bathing suits in the 1920s



Celebrating the end of prohibition 1933



A large crowd watches as attendants adjust a black hood over Rainey Bethea's head just before his public hanging in Owensboro, Kentucky, 1936

.

An African-American youth at a segregated drinking fountain in Halifax, North Carolina, in 1938.



Advertisement for Atabrine, an anti-malaria drug, 1941



Dr Suess racist cartoon, WW2.



Permanent shadows formed during the bombing of Hiroshima, 1945.



Police beating a civil rights protester, early 1960s.



Kathrine Switzer, first woman to run the Boston marathon as organisers try to remove her, 1967



The remains of the astronaut Vladimir Komarov, a man who fell from space, 1967.



Operation Babylift was the name given to the mass evacuation of children from South Vietnam to the United States and other countries, 1975

Interesting thanks for posting.

That poor Syphilis guy is definitely a Caucasian.. eeeek

a reply to: cuckooold

The remains of the astronaut Vladimir Komarov, a man who fell from space, 1967.

Wow.

Some folks die because they drank too much; some other people die because of a car accident... This man, ladies and gents, died of falling to Earth all the way from outer space, making atmospheric entry in the process.

Really? Dr Seuss is racist because he believes that nationals of a country the US is at war with can form a fifth column?

a reply to: Cinrad

That example I posted is mild compared to others, and yes, that cartoon is completely racist.

www.dartmouth.edu...

I won't post the image here as not sure if it's T & C friendly but click on the HuffPo link to see another 'not racist' Dr Suess cartoon.

www.huffingtonpost.com.au...

For those unfamiliar with Dr. Seuss' supremacist tendencies, we regret to inform you of his heavily documented penchants. Beyond this image, the author and illustrator drew anti-Japanese cartoons during World War II, and was wont to express his prejudiced views vocally.

Later in his life, Dr. Seuss attempted to remedy this warped perspective, creating a slew of anti-racist cartoons in the late 1940s and beyond. His 1954 book Horton Hears a Who!, dedicated to "My Great Friend, Mitsugi Nakamura of Kyoto, Japan," is often thought to be an apology for Seuss' racist past.

A great photo journal of the growing pains we have been through as a country, socially and politically, to achieve where we are today. It gives some perspective on how these pains continue today, and how necessary they are for us to evolve into the "land of the free, and the home of the brave", an idea we have yet to fully accomplish.

Excellent, OP. Thank you for this reminder.

a reply to: swanne
Well... from low earth orbit, mashed because the 'chutes didn't open, and torched by the ensuing fire....AND he pretty much knew that was going to be his fate before he even launched..... Double WOW!

originally posted by: Cinrad
Really? Dr Seuss is racist because he believes that nationals of a country the US is at war with can form a fifth column?

This may refer to the way food was offered in a Chinese restaurant.
They had columns listing entrees, rice or noodle dishes and vegetable dishes etc. Column A or 1 was the most expensive, column B or 2 less Depending on the meal plan you could select one from column A, two from B etc. Column 5 in the cartoon offered tnt. Dynamite.
But I could be totally wrong.

originally posted by: Sillyolme

originally posted by: Cinrad
Really? Dr Seuss is racist because he believes that nationals of a country the US is at war with can form a fifth column?

This may refer to the way food was offered in a Chinese restaurant.
They had columns listing entrees, rice or noodle dishes and vegetable dishes etc. Column A or 1 was the most expensive, column B or 2 less Depending on the meal plan you could select one from column A, two from B etc. Column 5 in the cartoon offered tnt. Dynamite.
But I could be totally wrong.

It generally refers to saboteurs.

Linky

a reply to: Bedlam

Yeah I said it was probably wrong. I wasn't around yet so I don't know. I'm a late baby boomer. 57.

a reply to: cuckooold

Spectacular pictures. Didn't know Geisel was pro internment camps during WW2.

originally posted by: cuckooold
a reply to: Cinrad

That example I posted is mild compared to others, and yes, that cartoon is completely racist.

www.dartmouth.edu...

I won't post the image here as not sure if it's T & C friendly but click on the HuffPo link to see another 'not racist' Dr Suess cartoon.

www.huffingtonpost.com.au...

For those unfamiliar with Dr. Seuss' supremacist tendencies, we regret to inform you of his heavily documented penchants. Beyond this image, the author and illustrator drew anti-Japanese cartoons during World War II, and was wont to express his prejudiced views vocally.

Later in his life, Dr. Seuss attempted to remedy this warped perspective, creating a slew of anti-racist cartoons in the late 1940s and beyond. His 1954 book Horton Hears a Who!, dedicated to "My Great Friend, Mitsugi Nakamura of Kyoto, Japan," is often thought to be an apology for Seuss' racist past.

yep as you said, that is one, no other way around it,
incredibly RACIST cartoon by Dr Suess . Sheesh ! now that's disappointing

a reply to: cuckooold

You learn something new everyday

That should have depressed me a little - but it gives me hope :-)

I have only seen the Hiroshima shadows once before. They are utterly incredible and scary at the same time. Very telling of a city being obliterated in a millisecond.

a reply to: cuckooold

Wow. These pics are amazing. I had no idea the Tuskegee Experiments went on for so long. I didn't know it caused facial deformities either. Terrible.

That pic of the Hiroshima shadow gave me chills.

Thank you for posting these.

Those were great photos. I didn't want it to end. We've been through so much with race gender and war.

originally posted by: swanne
a reply to: cuckooold

The remains of the astronaut Vladimir Komarov, a man who fell from space, 1967.

Wow.

Some folks die because they drank too much; some other people die because of a car accident... This man, ladies and gents, died of falling to Earth all the way from outer space, making atmospheric entry in the process.

He knew he was going to die, he warned the Russians that the craft would fail. But the Russians did not listen. Even his friend did not listen to him. He could have said no and let his friend go. But he went instead to save his friends life. Its said that during the last moments he cursed the Russians..